Source: Privacy Commissioner
Office of the Privacy Commissioner | Sharing information to protect the wellbeing and safety of children and young people
Information sharing is a critically important activity within the children’s sector
Our guidance includes:
People working in the children’s sector will often need to work together to ensure children and young people are getting the services and supports they need to be safe, protected from harm and to thrive and succeed.
This means making sure relevant information about the child or young person is shared with the right people at the right time in the right way.
Good information sharing practices:
- support people working in the children’s sector to make good judgment-based decisions when sharing a child or young person’s information
- build awareness across the children’s sector of what information can be shared, with whom, and for what purpose
- enable the delivery of effective services and supports that improve outcomes for children and young people
- create transparency and build trust and confidence in how children sector agencies and practitioners are sharing personal information.
You can share personal information to keep children and young people safe
There is no legislative barrier to information sharing when there is a wellbeing or safety concern for a child or young person.
Not sharing information when you can and should, can cause harm.
There are a number of legislative frameworks that permit sharing of information about children and young people for wellbeing and safety purposes. These frameworks include:
- the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, which enables sharing of information about children and young people for wellbeing and safety purposes
- the Family Violence Act 2018, which enables sharing of information for specific purposes related to family violence
- the Privacy Act 2020 which enables sharing of personal information to prevent or lessen a serious threat, or for law enforcement purposes.
Knowing what you can share, when, and with whom can feel challenging, especially if there is urgency or the needs of the child or young person are complex.
This guidance provides the information you need to confidently make good and timely decisions when you need to share information to protect children and young people’s wellbeing and keep them safe.
Download a copy of the information on this page (opens to PDF, 157KB).
Our guidance on sharing information to protect the wellbeing and safety of children and young people is part of an integrated government response relating to the Dame Karen Poutasi review in 2022.
